[center][img]http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t422/Harvent/tumblr_static_546461_576076769084693_47953491_n_zpsecglklzy.jpg[/img] [h2]The Black Warden[/h2][/center] [i]Most Holy, Divine Victoria. Minrathous is gone and the Imperium is crumbling. Three days ago, as the mid morning markets were reaching their peak of business, I was following a messenger of Magister Tilavus. As per your orders I had been keeping tabs on the Magister, due to the likelihood of him succeeding Archon Radonis. His imperialist and expansionist views were quite concerning. This is all moot now as on the day I was tailing the messenger a great tremor began to shake the city. This was no mere earthquake and I have no doubt it's effects were felt even as far as Orlais. The very ground opened up beneath the city, swallowing entire districts in an instant. The Imperial Chantry, the Senate, all of it was destroyed. I cannot begin to guess at the death toll. However the worst was yet to come. Before the dust had even begun to settle, waves of Darkspawn swarmed out of the great fissures the tremors had torn in the earth. I was forced to flee the city, lest I perish and be unable to report. At first I believed this to be the beginning of yet another Blight. The idea of two Blights occurring within a single lifetime is unthinkable, but what else could it have been. However something was different. The Darkspawn were not swarming mindlessly as in a Blight, they moved with the precision and discipline of a trained army, and I saw no sign of an Archdemon. And then there was the Warden. I saw him at a distance but for a few moments, yet it was enough for me to understand that he was in charge of the Darkspawn horde. They deferred to him, made way for him, and any who were too slow were slain where they stood. He wore the armor of a Grey Warden but it was all wrong, his armor was black as night and everywhere he walked, the very ground died and blighted beneath his feet. His sword radiated corruption and evil. You know that I am no coward, yet I fled from the sight of this creature, fear giving me speed enough to escape the city. I am returning to Orlais to give a report in person, but I felt this news grave enough to send a raven ahead of me with this message. This Darkspawn horde and the Black Warden leading it are beyond anything I've ever seen, Most Holy. I pray you have the wisdom to find a way to stop this because if you can't I fear this crisis may be the end of us all. With Reverence and Respect, S -From a Letter to the Divine[/i] [center][h2][color=f26522]Setting[/color][/h2][/center] Many days ago a great tremor shook all of Thedas. In places like Rivian and Ferelden, the earthquakes did little more than knock over a few shelves, but in Tevinter it was devastating. However the quake was simply a symptom of a far greater threat. From beneath the earth came hordes of Darkspawn, marching with the discipline of a well trained army, and at their head was a figure from nightmare. A man cloaked in the armor of Warden, but twisted and black, radiating the evil and corruption of the Blight with every step he took. In the weeks since it's appearance this Darkspawn army has marched on much of the Tevinter Imperium, crushing any who stand in their way. They have spread east into Antiva, however the bulk of the army's attention is focused on the south, on Nevarra. Even now the Darkspawn Army camps in the Silent Plains, barely held at bay by the desperate Navarran forces. Pleas to the Wardens of Weishaupt in the Anderfels for aid have, strangely, gone unanswered. The Wardens of the North are silent. Once Nevarra is conquered, it is only a matter of time before the Darkspawn spread into all of Southern Thedas. Knowing this The Wardens of the South, under the Acting Warden Commander of Ferelden have convinced Orlais and Ferelden to combine forces, forming the Southern Allied Forces, a great army with which they intend to push back the Darkspawn and take the pressure off of the beleaguered Navarran army. As the Southern army assembles, the Divine has put out a call for all heroes of talent to come together. With them she intends to create a special force, capable of moving ahead of the army and preparing the way. [b]Will you answer the call?[/b] [hider=Recent Events] [b][u]The Fifth Blight[/u][/b] When the Fifth Blight broke out, the youngest son of the noble Cousland Family of Ferelden, a talented warrior, found his family slain by treachery, and was conscripted into the Grey Wardens. During his quest to stop the Blight he installed Behlen as King of Orzammar, prevented the Ferelden Circle of Mages from being wiped out, avenged his family, deposed the traitor Loghain, helped Alistair become the King of Ferelden, and became the Commander of the Grey after successfully stopping the Blight and surviving, thanks to the help of a little black ritual. [b][u]The Grey Schism[/u][/b] The fact that the Warden Commander of Ferelden was best friends with King Alistair, who was once himself a fellow Warden, meant the Grey Wardens of Ferelden shared a close bond with the people and politics of Ferelden. Before the Warden Commander vanished in pursuit of a cure for the Calling, leaving the Wardens in the hands of a trusted Acting Commander, he had reforged the Wardens under him from an army devoted solely to killing Darkspawn, to an order devoted to protecting the innocent and powerless. The Wardens of the Weishaupt considered this to be a violation of the Warden's vaunted neutrality and after receiving several demands and veiled threats from the First Warden of Weishaupt, the Warden Commander of Ferelden cut off all contact with their Northern Brothers, declaring the Southern Grey Warden's independence. [b][u]The Champion of Kirkwall[/u][/b] Forced to flee Ferelden during the Fifth Blight. The woman who would come to be known as The Champion, settled in the Free Marches city of Kirkwall. Here she embarked on many adventures, but none quite so earth shaking as the destruction of the Chantry. Knight Commander Meredith's mistreatment of the Mages under her custody had created a powder-keg just waiting for someone to strike a match. A mage named Anders, a close friend of the Champion, was the one to set it all off. He destroyed the Kirkwall Chantry, bringing the confrontation between Mages and Templars to a head. When Meredith called for all Mages in the city to be put to the sword, the Champion leapt to their defence. A mage herself, she simply couldn't stand by and allow this injustice to pass. When it turned out that Meredith had gone mad from Red Lyrium, The Champion defeated her, ending her rampage. Despite his crimes, the Champion was unable to kill Anders, instead she demanded he leave Kirkwall and never return. But the damage had been done, and the Mage-Templar war began not long after. [b][u]The Inquisition and the Breach[/u][/b] When a Conclave held by the Divine at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, in an attempt to broker peace between Mages and Templars, was destroyed. Only one person survived a young Elven woman and Mage named Lavellan. She became leader of the Inquisition, using her Mark to seal the Rifts into the Fade opened by the destruction of the Conclave. Her investigations into what had caused the destruction of the Conclave led her to Corypheus, an ancient Tevinter Magister and one of the first Darkspawn. Inquisitor Lavellan saved the Rebel Mages from Corypheus' Ventori, accepting them as free allies, and crushed the Red Templars. She finally defeated Corypheus and sealed the Breach in the sky, leaving just a scar of light to remind the world how close it had come to annihilation. In the aftermath of Corypheus' defeat, the Inquisition's Spymaster, Leliana, was elected as the new Divine, taking the name Divine Victoria. She set about rebuilding the Chantry from the ground up, changing it into a place that welcomed all races with open arms, giving the Mages the freedom they had fought so hard for and righting past wrongs. Her earnest compassion quickly won over any opponents that might have stood in her way. As for the Inquisition, under Levellan they set about reforging the shattered Templars and Seekers of Truth. Who better than a Mage to understand the dangers of Magic. Lavellan was determined that the Inquisition would forever guard the world against the dangers of Magic, without becoming oppressors.[/hider] [hr][b][u]Rules[/u][/b] [i]*Ugh... I know, rules suck, so I'll try to keep this short-ish*[/i] - First of all, any executive decisions made by the GM (me) are to be obeyed. - Try to keep up the quality of your posts. Each post should be at least two paragraphs long. - Also try to post at least once a day, to keep things moving. Nothing kills an RP faster than stagnation. - If you are going to be absent for any extended period of time, please be sure to let us know and move your character to the side so that the rest can move on. - If anyone is absent without informing us, I'll assume they've left and have their character struck by lightning or dragged off by a Dragon or something. - Avoid metagaming or controlling other people's characters without permission. - If you have an argument with another player, take it to PM. Any fights that get out of hand in OOC or spill into IC will be stopped by me as GM. Anyone who attempts to continue after that will be [b]banned[/b] from this RP - If there's an aspect of your CS that you'd prefer to keep secret for now feel free to apply through PMs, but otherwise I'd prefer you post your CS here in the OOC. - Please note that war is dangerous. As such your characters will be risking death. You are welcome to do anything in your power to save a potentially doomed character, but if they are in a situation where they could not realistically survive, they will die. You are welcome to make a new character should this happen. - And finally, the good stuff. Violence and swearing is absolutely allowed in this. But should things start to get a little steamy between you and another character, fade to black and take it PM before we lose our PG rating. [hr][b][u]Character Sheet[/u][/b] [b]Name:[/b] (Who are they) [b]Age:[/b] (How old is your character) [b]Sex:[/b] (Male or Female) [b]Race:[/b] (Human, Elf, Dwarf or Qunari) [b]Class/Sub-class:[/b] (for example: Mage/Knight-Enchanter) [b]Appearance:[/b] (Preferably a drawn picture, but you may also add a written description) [b]Abilities:[/b] (A list of abilities/talents your character can use. Feel free to check the Dragon Age wiki for a list of talents available to each class. Try not to chose more than 5) [b]Personality:[/b] (A paragraph or two describing what sort of person your character is) [b]History:[/b] (A few paragraphs describing your character's past) [Hider=Example CS] [b]Name:[/b] Mirianne d'Fleur [b]Age:[/b] 18 [b]Sex:[/b] Female [b]Race:[/b] Human [b]Class/Sub-class:[/b] Two-Handed Warrior/Templar [b]Appearance:[/b] [img]http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t422/Harvent/holyknight_zps9wegjaxm.jpg[/img] [b]Abilities:[/b] [list][*]Block and Slash - She stands ready to deflect the next incoming attack and deliver a punishing counter to her attacker. [*]Crushing Blow - She delivers a powerful attack that crumples her foes, knocking them off their feet. [*]Spell Purge - Through faith and will, she dispels all hostile magic from the area around her. [*]Wrath of Heaven - She summons a pillar of light that blinds nearby enemies and damages demons. [*]Serene Presence - She radiates calm faith, inspiring allies to hold fast even in face of overwhelming odds.[/list] [b]Personality:[/b] Mirianne is the picture of serene beauty. She never seems to get angry or lose her patience. Her faith in the Maker is unshakable, to point where she will sometime use the Chant of Light in conversation. That said, her real world knowledge is sometimes lacking, giving her a somewhat naive view of the world. [b]History:[/b] Even a glistening gem of a city like Val Royeaux has it's dirty underbelly. Mirianne's family were dirt poor, living in the hidden slums of the holy city. When Marianne's mother was pregnant she fell deathly ill and no healer within her father's price range could help her. Desperate her father undertook the difficult pilgrimage to the Frostback Mountains, hoping to visit the Temple of Sacred Ashes and return with a pinch of the fabled Ashes of Andraste. The journey was difficult and fraught with danger, and when Mirianne's father returned to Val Royeaux, he was near to death. As was his wife, but fortunately he had brought the ashes in time. They were used to mix a draught that she swallowed moments before going into labour. The birth was long and sadly neither Mirianne's Mother, nor her exhausted and injured father survived. However they both lived long enough to hear their daughter's first cries and, it is said, they passed with smiles. Mirianne was taken in by the Chantry and raised to be a Sister. However as she grew she showed some interest in the Templars and underwent some informal training alongside them. Her teenage years were disrupted by the Mage-Templar War and the Death of Divine Justinia which threw the Chantry into chaos. It was during this time that Mirianne began to speak of the Voice. A soothing Voice that told her everything would be fine. She spoke of this to the other Clerics, telling them not to worry, that the Voice said all would be well. Scrambling to replace the Divine left the Clerics with little time to listen to the ramblings of a young Sister, and so she went largely ignored. Once the crisis was over and Divine Victoria was elected, the new Divine came to hear of this sister who claimed to hear voices. Having once believed herself to hear the Voice of the Maker, she went to see Mirianne in person. Mirianne was interviewed by the Divine and all of the College of Clerics for weeks and in the end they all agreed unanimously that Mirianne had been touched by the Maker. Most believed that the Ashes of Andraste had made Mirianne more receptive than most to the Light of the Maker, while some of the more extreme clerics believed she had been made into a Vessel for Andraste's soul itself. Whatever the truth, the Divine took Mirianne to her side, naming her the Right Hand of the Divine and ensuring her training continued. When news of the Darkspawn invasion reached Divine Victoria, she placed Mirianne at the head of her task force.[/hider] [b][u]Major NPCs[/u][/b] [Hider=Theodore Van Markham] [b]Name:[/b] Theodore Van Markham [b]Title:[/b] Lord Commander, Grand Marshal (formerly) [b]Sex:[/b] Male [b]Race:[/b] Human [b]Appearance:[/b] [img]http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t422/Harvent/lordcommander_zpssqds75pk.jpg[/img] [b]Relevant Information:[/b] A close cousin to the Royal Pentaghasts of Nevarra, Lord Commander Van Markham was originally named Grand Marshal of the military forces deployed to stem the tide of the Darkspawn threat. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he found his forces inadequate to halt the Darkspawn's southward march for any extended period of time. Whenever it seemed like the line might hold, a renewed push forced the Nevarran Military to pull back further and further south. Finally at the request of the Divine, the King of Nevarra commanded Theodore to stand down and step asside for a representative from the Inquisition to take up the mantle of Grand Marshal. Van Markham begrudgingly obeyed his King and returned to his original rank of Lord Commander, overseeing the logistics of administration of the Forward Camp and the nearby Refugee Camp, while the Inquisition agent took command of the defenses.[/hider]